Polymorphism denotes the existence of more than one crystalline form of a substance. This ability of a chemical substance to crystallize in more than one crystalline form can have a profound effect on the shelf life, solubility, formulation properties, and processing properties of a drug. In addition, the action of a drug can be affected by the polymorphism of the drug molecule. Different polymorphs can have different rates of uptake in the body, leading to lower or higher biological activity than desired. In extreme cases, an undesired polymorph can even show toxicity. The occurrence of an unknown crystalline form during manufacture can have a significant impact.
Understanding and controlling polymorphism, then, gives a decided advantage in bringing new drugs to the marketplace. First and foremost, predicting any possible polymorphs for a drug product can be used to diminish the possibility of contamination during a drug's manufacture or storage by other polymorphic forms. Failure to catch contamination can have life-threatening consequences in some cases. Crystallizing an unintended polymorph during manufacture can mean weeks or even months of production downtime while scientists find and correct the cause of the new crystalline form or go through another round of testing to obtain approval for the new crystalline form.
Second, understanding which crystalline forms of a drug are possible in certain cases allows researchers to maximize the desired properties of a compound, such as solubility, formulation properties, processing properties, and shelf life. Understanding these factors early in the development of a new drug may mean a more active, more stable, or more cheaply manufactured drug.
The compound 5-Chloro-N2-(2-isopropoxy-5-methyl-4-piperidin-4-yl-phenyl)-N4-[2-(propane-2-sulfonyl)-phenyl]-pyrimidine-2,4-diamine, in the form of a free base, of formula
is an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor, a member of the insulin receptor super family of receptor tyrosine kinases. Compound I was originally described in WO 2008/073687 A1 as Example 7, compound 66.
WO 2008/073687 A1, however, provides no information about crystalline forms of 5-Chloro-N2-(2-isopropoxy-5-methyl-4-piperidin-4-yl-phenyl)-N4-[2-(propane-2-sulfonyl) -phenyl]-pyrimidine-2,4-diamine or its corresponding salts. Crystalline forms of 5-Chloro-N2-(2-isopropoxy-5-methyl-4-piperidin-4-yl-phenyl)-N4-[2-(propane-2-sulfonyl)-phenyl]-pyrimidine-2,4-diamine have been discovered, which are useful in treating diseases which respond to inhibition of anaplastic lymphoma kinase activity, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), zeta-chain-associated protein kinase 70 (ZAP-70) insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1R or a combination thereof. The crystalline forms exhibit new physical properties that may be exploited in order to obtain new pharmacological properties, and that may be utilized in the drug product development of 5-Chloro-N2-(2-isopropoxy-5-methyl-4-piperidin-4-yl-phenyl)-N4-[2-(propane-2-sulfonyl)-phenyl]-pyrimidine-2, 4-diamine.